Owls at 40th annual Fossum/Spartan Invitational
4/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 20, 2007
The Rice Owls golf team competes at Michigan State's 40th annual Fossum/Spartan Invitational April 22-24 at the Forest Akers West, the par-72, 7,013-yard course in East Lansing, Mich.
Competing for Rice is Addison Awe, Bobby Thomure, Erik Petersen, Heon Young Lee, and Michael Buttacavoli.
"The tradition that goes along with the 40th anniversary of the Fossum/Spartan Invitational as one of the first collegiate tournaments obviously means a lot to Michigan State, but also to collegiate golf," MSU head coach Mark Hankins said. "We are fortunate to have Bruce Fossum as our lead speaker at our welcome dinner and the players have a chance to interact and learn from him.
The field will include 12 other teams and is led by 21st-ranked UNC Charlotte, followed by 29th-ranked Michigan State and 45th-ranked Wisconsin. Ten Midwest District teams will be present, including seven Big Ten squads (Indiana, Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin in addition to host Michigan State).
"We are excited to have seven Big Ten schools in this year's field and top teams from our district (Ball State, Xavier, Toledo and Eastern Michigan)," noted Hankins. "We always invite a couple of top teams from outside our district - this year it was No. 21 UNC Charlotte and Rice."
Individually, the invitational will showcase some of the strongest individual golfers. The field includes two of the top-50 ranked players, according to Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. MSU's Matt Harmon leads with his No. 17 ranking and Indiana's Jorge Campillo rounds out with his No. 23 ranking.
Last year, Indiana outlasted the 12-team field to claim the tournament title for the second time in three years. The Hoosiers carded a 54-hole total of 292-283-295--870, four shots better than 2005 champion Minnesota (301-284-289--874). Xavier and Illinois tied for third at 875, while Northwestern and Denver finished tied for fifth at 877. Michigan State finished in a tie for seventh at for a 14-over-par 878 (305-288-285--878).
Individually, Denver's Charlie Soule dominated the 12-team field, setting the 54-hole tournament record at 9-under par 207 (69-71-69). Minnesota's Bronson LaCassie and Northwestern's Chris Wilson finished at 2-under-par 214.
The invitational consists of 54 holes, with two rounds played on Saturday and the final round on Sunday; the lowest four of five scores will count towards the team score. Saturday's 36 holes begin with a 9 am (ET) shotgun, while Sunday's final-round tee times begin at 9 am (ET).
Players Mentioned
